columbine and tv news

It was after the Columbine shootings (April 1999) that I quit watching TV news. It was so pointless as a national news story. Yeah, I lived a couple blocks away from a high school but it wasn't that high school. So why was I watching? I had no connection with anyone or anything in Columbine.

I was sitting there watching it because it was on TV. And that was the only reason.

A few months before Columbine, I was beginning to see television news shows for what they were. Local news was alot of free advertising for events I didn't care about and the political talk shows I had loved watching were just about a whole lot of people guessing what might happen in the future. It was all so pointless. So why was I watching this crap? Because it was on TV.

Then Columbine happened. Endless video of people and vehicles outside a high school. No meaningful commentary. This was less exciting than the 1994 OJ Simpson Bronco car chase. And if you sat through that, it was hard to believe anything could be that dull ever again.

So yeah, I was done watching TV news.

I was reminded of this because I was googling the other day and saw something about how the Columbine shootings were not about a couple of geeks getting payback for all the taunting from the jocks and popular kids. It wasn't at all about the load of BS they were trying to sell everyone at the time.

So I stopped watching TV news way back then. But what have I actually missed?